"Recasting sorcery as critical psycho-social commentary, moral discourse, and local psychotherapy".

This article examines the role of sorcery—specifically ark echaghel, a Tuareg term for malevolent sorcery—in revealing local ontology, moral personhood, and psycho-social dynamics within a Saharan Tuareg community amid transcultural encounters. Through analysis of a case involving a Tuareg smith/artisan, an American traveler, and an Islamic scholar (marabout), the study explores how sorcery functions as a form of moral critique and indigenous psychotherapy that addresses social inequalities, intentions, and relational personhood beyond Western empirical frameworks. The article situates sorcery within broader socio-economic upheavals, historical social hierarchies, and Islamic moral discourse, highlighting its continuing relevance for de-colonizing cultural psychology and transcultural psychiatry by foregrounding indigenous epistemologies and critiques of universalizing psychological interpretations. It emphasizes the complex interplay of intention, agency, and symbolic meaning in local understandings of causation, personhood, and healing practices in Tuareg society.